Overview
Top reasons to study with us
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9
9th for Business and Management in the UK
QS World University Rankings (2024)
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72
72nd for Business and Management in the world
QS World University Rankings (2024)
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Lancaster University is top 10 in The Complete University Guide 2025
Managing international growth is a key challenge for firms, whether for smaller entrepreneurial ventures or for larger well-established corporations. Managers in these firms need to deal with complex issues related to foreign direct investment and diverse regulatory environments, strategic positioning in different markets, the creation and management of organisational structures that support international business, and taking leadership for activities across national boundaries.
The MSc International Business and Strategy programme is designed to equip graduates with the key capabilities required to operate in multinational firms. On the programme, you will develop vital skills and capabilities necessary to manage international growth. This involves organic growth via the smart positioning of products and services in diverse markets, through to the management of mergers and acquisitions.
Throughout the programme, you will work intensively with fellow students and with our internationally-renowned experts who deliver the programme. Alongside the core modules, you will participate in a professional development programme with our dedicated careers partners.
Assessment Methods
The International Business and Strategy programme is made up of a total of 180 credits. The dissertation module represents the largest single component and is worth 50 credits. Most modules use more than one type of assessment including formal exams, individual coursework essays and assignments, group-based reports and case study analysis.
Entry requirements
Academic Requirements
2:1 Hons degree (UK or equivalent) in any discipline.
We may also consider non-standard applicants, please contact us for information.
If you have studied outside of the UK, we would advise you to check our list of international qualifications before submitting your application.
Additional Requirements
Ideally students will have diverse professional experiences in the form of internships, volunteering, and permanent employment. These experiences add diversity and dynamic engagement among the cohort.
English Language Requirements
We may ask you to provide a recognised English language qualification, dependent upon your nationality and where you have studied previously.
We normally require an IELTS (Academic) Test with an overall score of at least 6.5 and a minimum of 6.0 in each element of the test. We also consider other English language qualifications.
If your score is below our requirements, you may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
Contact: Admissions Team +44 (0) 1524 592032 or email pgadmissions@lancaster.ac.uk
Course structure
You will study a range of modules as part of your course, some examples of which are listed below.
Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, but changes may be necessary, for example as a result of student feedback, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes, and new research. Not all optional modules are available every year.
Core
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This module is concerned with the critical choices that organisations face in order to survive and gain sustainable competitive advantage in an international environment with rapid economic, regulatory and technological changes. To understand and critically evaluate these choices and their strategic dimension requires analysis of the environment in which multinational enterprises operate as well as the creation of know-how value at a business and corporate level.
Cross border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are an increasingly important force in shaping economies, restructuring industries and revitalising organisations. Accounting for trillions of dollars in spend and affecting various stakeholders (e.g., employees, customers. supplies, shareholders), it is important to consider the motivations, processes and impacts of cross border M&A.
Drawing upon concepts in International Business, Corporate Strategy, Business Analytics and Cross National Management, the main strategies for engaging in M&A, the practices involved in deal closure and the post acquisition integration process shall be examined across a variety of national contexts.
This module consists of two components: research methods and dissertation. The research methods taught component is designed to equip you with the additional research techniques and analytical tools necessary to undertake your dissertation which may be company based. The dissertation component consists of an extended piece of supervised independent research of around 15,000 words on a topic relating to some aspect of your master's programme. You choose your topic in the Lent Term. The focus of the dissertation is normally on issues raised in the core modules but may tackle areas of interest revealed in the optional modules that you wish to investigate in further depth. There is also the opportunity to undertake a company-based project.
This module aims to develop a good understanding of the international business environment. This is undertaken with reference to a critical assessment of globalisation and a subsequent focus on international trade.
You will be introduced to the principal theories of international trade and political economy so as to better understand the international environment in which firms operate. The emphasis is placed on understanding the strategies of firms in an ever more globalised world economy. The material will be presented mostly from an applied perspective (i.e. with facts) to bring the economic theoretical apparatus into real-life situations.
This innovative capstone module comprises a set of lectures and workshops and culminates in a simulated full-day ‘Strategy Summit’. The lecture syllabus will deal with advanced topics in strategy practice and process in multi-business and multi-national firms and build on the diverse modules delivered in terms 1 and 2.
The Strategy Summit event simulates a corporate strategy process in a real-world multinational, multidivisional firm. It creates an environment that calls on students to apply ideas developed in lectures and workshops and, importantly, to reflect on what they are doing in the process. Students work in teams, taking on the role of key actors in the process, e.g., the top management team, middle managers, division or subsidiary managers, consultants, unions, regulators, shareholders, media actors, etc.
The module provides students with the opportunity to integrate their learning on the programme and to develop a variety of professional and personal capabilities.
Managing the multinational firm complements the “building competitive advantage” module which mainly covers business-level strategy. The scope of multinational firms goes beyond specific product/market combinations. As such, Managing the Multinational Firm is about coordinating and orchestrating various businesses and goes beyond industry analysis, strategic positioning, or competitive advantages. Simply, the module focuses on the corporate-level strategy of multinational firms.
This module complements the academic content of the programme by helping you develop important career skills such as how to present yourself on the job market and business presentation skills. The ability to present complex data in a clear, concise and convincing way is an important skill for business graduates, and in this module, we offer you the opportunity to learn and practice presentations in a safe environment.
This module aims to provide a broad overview of qualitative and quantitative approaches as used in management research, together with an understanding of the different research paradigms. This module prepares you for the independent research you will undertake for your final research project.
Strategic purpose is key to organisational success. Businesses driven by purpose outperform the market over the medium to long term because they do not exclusively focus on profits. Strategic purpose requires consideration of how quality, customer satisfaction, productivity, human resource policies, and corporate social responsibility affect value creation. In this module, you will explore responsible leadership and its links to strategic purpose.
Optional
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Businesses typically experience critical phases of change, causing turmoil. Managers and entrepreneurs must respond appropriately to sustain business competitiveness and survival. You will learn entrepreneurial leadership and change management skills for managing common change scenarios such as start-up, growth, business turn-around, and organisational crisis.
Family businesses are all around us, yet we often lack a good understanding of what makes them unique and sustainable. Family businesses range from large multinationals such as Walmart, Samsung, and Lego to resilient small businesses. In this module, you will learn how to work entrepreneurially and professionally in family firms to achieve long-term growth and performance.
Fees and funding
Location | Full Time (per year) | Part Time (per year) |
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Home | £15,650 | n/a |
International | £31,500 | n/a |
Additional fees and funding information accordion
There may be extra costs related to your course for items such as books, stationery, printing, photocopying, binding and general subsistence on trips and visits. Following graduation, you may need to pay a subscription to a professional body for some chosen careers.
Specific additional costs for studying at Lancaster are listed below.
College fees
Lancaster is proud to be one of only a handful of UK universities to have a collegiate system. Every student belongs to a college, and all students pay a small College Membership Fee which supports the running of college events and activities. Students on some distance-learning courses are not liable to pay a college fee.
For students starting in 2024, the fee is £40 for undergraduates and research students and £15 for students on one-year courses. Fees for students starting in 2025 have not yet been set.
Computer equipment and internet access
To support your studies, you will also require access to a computer, along with reliable internet access. You will be able to access a range of software and services from a Windows, Mac, Chromebook or Linux device. For certain degree programmes, you may need a specific device, or we may provide you with a laptop and appropriate software - details of which will be available on relevant programme pages. A dedicated IT support helpdesk is available in the event of any problems.
The University provides limited financial support to assist students who do not have the required IT equipment or broadband support in place.
For most taught postgraduate applications there is a non-refundable application fee of £40. We cannot consider applications until this fee has been paid, as advised on our online secure payment system. There is no application fee for postgraduate research applications.
For some of our courses you will need to pay a deposit to accept your offer and secure your place. We will let you know in your offer letter if a deposit is required and you will be given a deadline date when this is due to be paid.
The fee that you pay will depend on whether you are considered to be a home or international student. Read more about how we assign your fee status.
If you are studying on a programme of more than one year’s duration, tuition fees are reviewed annually and are not fixed for the duration of your studies. Read more about fees in subsequent years.
Scholarships and bursaries
You may be eligible for the following funding opportunities, depending on your fee status and course. You will be automatically considered for our main scholarships and bursaries when you apply, so there's nothing extra that you need to do.
Unfortunately no scholarships and bursaries match your selection, but there are more listed on scholarships and bursaries page.
If you're considering postgraduate research you should look at our funded PhD opportunities.
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We also have other, more specialised scholarships and bursaries - such as those for students from specific countries.
Browse Lancaster University's scholarships and bursaries.
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Entrepreneurship and Strategy
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Management and Business
- Business Administration MBA
- Business Administration (Executive) MBA
- Business Analytics MSc
- Cyber Security Executive MBA MBA
- Digital Business, Innovation and Management MSc
- Human Resource Management MSc
- Human Resources and Consulting MA
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship MSc
- Innovation and Improvement Science MSc
- Innovation and Improvement Science PgCert
- Innovation and Improvement Science PgDip
- International Masters Program for Managers No Qual (PGT)
- Leadership and Management PgCert
- Leadership and Management (Health Care) PgCert
- Leadership Practice MSc
- Leadership Practice PgDip
- Leadership Practice (Apprenticeship Pathway) PgDip
- Logistics and Supply Chain Management MSc
- Management MSc
- Management (Entrepreneurship and Strategy) PhD
- Management (Organisation, Work and Technology) PhD
- Management Science MRes
- Management Science PhD
- Management Science PhD (Integrated)
- Medical Leadership MSc
- Medical Leadership PgDip
- Medical Leadership PgCert
- Organisation, Work and Technology MRes
- Politics, Philosophy and Management MSc
- Professional Development PGCert
- Professional Practice MA
- Professional Practice MSc
- Professional Practice PgCert
- Professional Practice PgDip
- Project Management MSc
- Theory and Practice of Management PhD
- Theory and Practice of Management (IDPM) PhD
Important Information
The information on this site relates primarily to 2025/2026 entry to the University and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.
The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.
More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information.
Our Students’ Charter
We believe in the importance of a strong and productive partnership between our students and staff. In order to ensure your time at Lancaster is a positive experience we have worked with the Students’ Union to articulate this relationship and the standards to which the University and its students aspire. View our Charter and other policies.